Are there any Laws for me being a poker affiliate in the UK?

[AnthonyMSEO]

Although im an expert at marketing through search. I do need some help. My site is hosted in the US. The URL is pokersitespro.com so based around a US Top level domain but im based in the UK and will be targeting the world as whole. I have extensive skills with Search engine marketing so this is not the issue.

The issue is are there any laws i should be aware of as poker affiliate in the UK?

Please help

[baldidiot]

Yes and no.

Technically, thanks to the UK Gambling Act, it is illegal for you to advertise any site which isn't regulated in a white listed jurisdiction. But many UK affiliates happily choose to ignore this rule, and I have yet to hear of anyone getting in trouble for it - so the decision of whether to abide by the gambling act or not is up to you.

However, this all changes very quickly if you intend to advertise offline in the UK - either through press, print, tv, sponsorship, pub poker games, whatever. The advertising standards agency will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you aren't compliant and publish an advert in the UK.

You must also feature on your site either the "18+" logo or "18+" AND you must link to gambleaware.co.uk

Personally, I have made my site is fully compliant and we have had lawyers look over it. This is because we are a ltd company in the UK and we also have mainstream, non gambling sites so can't take any chances.

Hope this helps - if you need any clarification just ask!

[AnthonyMSEO]

Excellent so say for a start i add the 18+ logo and the link to gambleaware.co.uk thats a start.

Where and how do i know if an affiliate program/ operator site is white listed?

Yes and no.

Technically, thanks to the UK Gambling Act, it is illegal for you to advertise any site which isn't regulated in a white listed jurisdiction. But many UK affiliates happily choose to ignore this rule, and I have yet to hear of anyone getting in trouble for it - so the decision of whether to abide by the gambling act or not is up to you.

However, this all changes very quickly if you intend to advertise offline in the UK - either through press, print, tv, sponsorship, pub poker games, whatever. The advertising standards agency will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you aren't compliant and publish an advert in the UK.

You must also feature on your site either the "18+" logo or "18+" AND you must link to gambleaware.co.uk

Personally, I have made my site is fully compliant and we have had lawyers look over it. This is because we are a ltd company in the UK and we also have mainstream, non gambling sites so can't take any chances.

Hope this helps - if you need any clarification just ask!

[baldidiot]

Excellent so say for a start i add the 18+ logo and the link to gambleaware.co.uk thats a start.

Where and how do i know if an affiliate program/ operator site is white listed?

Yes - the best option is to put it in your footer and have it on every page.

White listed refers to the jurisdiction in which the site is licensed - pretty much every poker site will have this information on their home page, usually at the bottom.

For example, poker stars has the crest for the isle of man and also states "License No. 7, granted July 2005. Online gambling is regulated in the Isle of Man."

The current list of white listed jurisdictions is:

EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands (note: not the Netherlands Antilles), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK.

PLUS

Alderney, Antigua & Barbuda, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Tasmania.

[AnthonyMSEO]

Okay so are you based in the UK

Yes - the best option is to put it in your footer and have it on every page.

White listed refers to the jurisdiction in which the site is licensed - pretty much every poker site will have this information on their home page, usually at the bottom.

For example, poker stars has the crest for the isle of man and also states "License No. 7, granted July 2005. Online gambling is regulated in the Isle of Man."

The current list of white listed jurisdictions is:

EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands (note: not the Netherlands Antilles), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK.

PLUS

Alderney, Antigua & Barbuda, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Tasmania.

[craig96]

Do you really need the following on your site:

You must also feature on your site either the "18+" logo or "18+" AND you must link to gambleaware.co.uk

Surely if you are just an affiliate you can have no harm come your way?